On March 23rd, we held our first Spelling Bee competition at San Judas Tadeo School. This event was filled with excitement and warmth. Our students and parents enjoyed this moment quite a lot. The latter took pride in watching their kids display a great command of the English language throughout the whole contest. Our students practiced a great deal prior to the last rounds. We previously went through the competition in our classrooms in which a number of participants became the contenders to represent their grades in the final match. There was so much emotion and enthusiasm all along this activity. Our aim is to perform this competition with whole school next year. This event, which involved the 2nd , 3rd, 4th, 5th, and 6th graders, was conceived as an initiative to engage students` leaning and raise awareness as to how important it is to learn English . There were nine final contestants: Alexa Richiez Domínguez, Moises Luna Ramírez, Luis Rosario Janer, Patricia Fernández Read, Lia Guzmán Ferreras, Linda Beltrán, Maria José Tio, Miranda Sánchez Cuello and Daniela Rosario Janer. Four kids resulted winners: from 2nd and 3rd grades: Lia Marie Guzman Ferreras, first place and Luis Rosario Janer second. As to 4th, 5th and 6th grades: Daniela Rosario Janer got the first place and Maria José Tió, the second one.

National Geographic Learning was part of the sponsors of the activity. They provided us with the tools and guidance to consolidate the occasion. Likewise, Mirtha Paulino (English Language Coordinator), Bernoli Tejada, Rafaela Carrasco, Alexis Pichardo, Jorge De Jesus and others offered their expertise in the area to insightfully make the most out of the occasion. Spelling Bee competitions originated in the United States last century and they have become quite a tradition worldwide. Many schools from all over the world take part in this contest. The Dominican Republic it is not an exception to the rule. Great schools such as Ashton, DominicoAmericano, Carol Morgan, St. Joseph and St. Michaels participate in Spelling Bee competitions. I strongly believe that these sorts of events foster English Language Learning due to the fact that our students get immersed in the process and get to utilize the target vocabulary. We are confident that next year it will be more of a massive event that will encompass the complete school.